


After Daedalus

by orphan_account



Category: Space Cowboys (2000), Sweet Valley High - Francine Pascal
Genre: Biracial Olivia Davidson, F/M, Funerals, Hawk on the Moon, International Space Station, NASA AU, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-01
Updated: 2020-03-01
Packaged: 2021-02-28 04:21:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 655
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22977556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Launch was at 8:54 am Eastern time on October 22. Rendezvous with IKON was at 5 pm Central Time the same day. EVA 1 was from 9:30 pm to 2:45 am on the 23rd and EVA 2 was from 1:10 pm to 8:37 pm that same day. Hawk’s TLI was at 12:18 am on the 24th (he egressed the orbiter at 11:02 pm) and the landing was at 6:44 am Eastern on the 25th,yielding a total mission time of 2 days and not quite 22 hours.
Relationships: Alexandra Rollins & April Dawson, Alexandra Rollins/Eugene Davidson, Olivia Davidson/Jeffrey French





	After Daedalus

_25 October 1999, 6:41 am EST_  
All was quiet at Kennedy Space Center Runway 15. The egret colony that lived south of the runway was asleep after a long day’s hunting. The crocodiles were enjoying a late dinner of shellfish. The manatees had moved south to the Palm Beach marshes. A layer of morning mist hung over the runway.

Then,there came the sonic booms,two of them,echoing over Cape Canaveral. They sounded like great gunshots going off in the sky.

_Daedalus_ was back.

————

_6:45 am  
_  
“Houston,Daedalus,wheels stop. We’re home.”

Frank Corvin didn’t bother to listen to the cheering in Mission Control before he switched to the recovery loop. “Daedalus calling North Convoy. We have wheels stop and are moving into the post-landing procedures.”

As he and his crew mates worked to begin safing the orbiter,Frank thought about what their 3 days in space had cost them. Hawk flying 24 tons of Soviet Cold War wizardry to the Moon,Alex and Roger hurt (he had seen their parachutes while on approach,so they were now safe), the oldest shuttle in the fleet damaged beyond what was usually seen. _The press is going to have a field day with this. Tank,Jerry,Roger,Alex,and me will probably have to testify before Congress. It’ll be worse than Liberty Bell 7,worse than Apollo 1,worse than the X-15 crash,perhaps even worse than Challenger. If NASA can survive this,it’ll be a miracle.  
_  
Frank listened in on the loop. “Daedalus,Houston,your MPS repositioning values are......Daedalus,Houston,Go for APU/HYD shutdown......and we’re ready for OPS 901 when you are......”

At last,more than an hour after landing,they switched to KSC comms and were cleared to exit the Shuttle. At 8:06 am Eastern time,Frank Corvin emerged from OV-102 _Columbia,_ and officially began his new life.

————

 _26 October 1999, 12:40 pm  
Orbiter Processing Facility  
_  
Even from a hundred feet away,Evan Blake could hear the shouting. As he got closer to the source,he started to wince.  
  
“Gene,you said Congress would give me their full support!”, the silver haired man yelled into the phone. When he saw Evan,he broke off. “Sorry,Gene,there’s a pad rat outside with the damage report. Gotta go”.  
  
Frank Corvin emerged from the cubicle. “How’s the orbiter?”  
  
Evan lifted the softscreen and began to read. “Tile damage,reentry or otherwise,only slightly exceeds normal levels. There was major flaking around the forward RCS pod,probably at an altitude of about 180,000 feet, and the left-hand overhead window glareshield has been partially torn off, probably at about 135,000 feet. The payload bay area has sustained the worst damage,primarily to the bay’s support structure as caused by the debris of IKON after its activation. Repair time is estimated at 30 days,cost of $20 million. The nose landing gear left wheel also sustained scoring from the rather emphatic landing.”  
  
“What’s the orbiter’s next mission?”  
  
“STS-107 in April 2001,fourth servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope.”  
  
Frank then crossed the floor space to _Columbia. Christ,how did you endure all that?_ A web of white streaks extended from the forward RCS thrusters almost to the orbiter’s windows. The APU area showed scoring marks,as did the elevon.  
  
“Did the emergency hatch opening affect anything important?”  
  
“Telemetry indicates that the hatch was opened at 29,000 feet,which is somewhat higher than designed. The airflow jerked around some storage lockers with their contents,but that was about it.”  
  
“Sorry to drag this off topic again,but what’s the next Shuttle mission?”  
  
“STS-103 next month,again to the Hubble Space Telescope. _Discovery_ is flying on an emergency servicing mission because HST’s gyros are starting to fail. _Discovery_ will be rolled out of the VAB tomorrow.”  
  
“Okay.” With that,Frank turned on his heel and stalked out of the OPF.

**Author's Note:**

> Launch was at 8:54 am Eastern time on October 22. Rendezvous with IKON was at 5 pm Central Time the same day. EVA 1 was from 9:30 pm to 2:45 am on the 23rd and EVA 2 was from 1:10 pm to 8:37 pm that same day. Hawk’s TLI was at 12:18 am on the 24th (he egressed the orbiter at 11:02 pm) and the landing was at 6:44 am Eastern on the 25th,yielding a total mission time of 2 days and not quite 22 hours.


End file.
